Dressed In Pink
by SandrinePenn
Summary: [Hairspray] If she wants to do gymnastics or soccer or knit, that’s fine, anything but dancing!
1. Prologue

"Corny, I don't want that for her," Amber said, pleading with her husband for the millionth time. Corny continued ignoring Amber as he scooped up half dried Play-Doh and shoved it back into its cup.

"Amber," he said, wiping his hand on a dish towel, "she wants it for herself and who are we to stop her?" Amber rolled her eyes.

"Of course she does, Corny, she's five. All five-year-old's want to dance!"

"Then what's wrong with letting her?" he asked, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms.

"If she wants to do gymnastics or soccer or knit, that's fine, anything but dancing!"

"Amber..."

"Christopher, I will not raise _me_!" Amber snapped, her face tinging red. Corny raised his eyebrows.

"Amber, you're not your mother, so just stop with the melodrama. And keep your voice down," Corny said, sighing. "If Kimberly wants to dance, then she can go to a dance class at Loretta's with Tracy and Link's kids. She's not going to be moonlighting at the Chez, not right now. Oh, baby, come on..."

Amber's face screwed up like it always did when she was about to cry. Corny slid down the front of the counter till he was kneeling and pressed his face to his palms, breathing slowly. "Amber," he said from behind his hands, "please don't."

"I just don't understand why you can't back me up on this!" she sobbed, her cheeks blushed as angry tears rolled down her face. "I have been there every step of the way with you."

"That's it," Corny said, standing up again. He took two steps forward and kissed Amber before walking past her, grabbing his coat, and out the front door.

"Corny!" Amber screamed after him, stomping her foot and crossing her arms. "Hmph."

"Mommy?" Kimberly asked from her spot on the floor. She was dressed in all pink, surrounded by coloring books and crayons.

"Yes, baby?" Amber sniffled, wiping her nose and turning to face her daughter.

"Daddy's stupid!" she laughed, rendering Mickey blue. Amber chewed her lip.

"Yes. Yes, he is."


	2. Chapter 1

Corny hardly paid attention to where he was walking anymore; Amber's fits had gotten more and more severe the older Kimberly had gotten and it took a good five miles or two hours, whichever came first, for him to collect himself enough to return home.

Amber's temper had always been a subject of discontent amongst their friends and family, not that they had many mutual friends or much living family. Corny smiled to himself remembering the struggle Amber had had figuring which side to sit on at Link and Tracy's wedding; she most assuredly no friend of Tracy's and Link was hardly familial. They had ended up two seats down from Noreen and Doreen, where Amber had cried crocodile tears the whole time. Corny had stroked her hand and shushed her gently; she hadn't even cried at their own wedding.

Exposition, he thought, for his own benefit. Exposition and back story to help him figure why he was walking down Pressman Street at 8:30 in the morning, again, and why it was that he seemed to be walking more and more. He loved Amber the Council Member, he loved Amber the Mother, he loved Amber the Fashionista, but he most assuredly did not love Amber Von Tussle.

Von Tussle...

_Corny rolled his neck, stretched his hands above his head. His back was tight and sore; on the break between rehearsals, Corny had been dancing with Brenda and lifted her, wrenching his back. It was times like that that Corny was reminded that he was not seventeen anymore, even if he was only six years departed from it. _

_ Shuffling through the empty studio, Corny picked up his jacket up and was about to head out when he heard an exaggerated sniffle. Stopping short, he sighed and let his head fall back on his shoulders.  
_

_"What's wrong Amber?" he asked, crossing his arms over his tweed coat. He could see Amber sitting on the floor, her dress fluffed out around her, charcoal tears rolling down her cheeks.  
_

_"My mother," she whispered angrily, wiping her eyes. Corny furrowed his brow and draped his coat over a chair before sitting down next to Amber on the floor. Amber turned her face from Corny and that's when he realized that she hadn't been trying to get his attention but more unable to control her sobs.  
_

_"What about Velma?" he asked, his voice softer than before. Amber picked at the tulle of her skirt and shrugged.  
_

_"She doesn't c-c-care, Corny," she choked, fresh tears coming. "S-s-s-she just wants to be f-f-famous again. She w-wants to be Miss B-B-Baltimore Crabs for the rest of her life!" Amber squeaked, sighing. "She's just living v-v-vicariously through me."  
_

_Corny was taken aback; he was shocked that Amber knew that Velma was using her and let her do it. Moreover, he was shocked that she knew the word 'vicariously.' _

_"Honey," Corny said, placing his hand on Amber's knee, "it's..." _

_ He had gotten halfway through his sentence when Amber was on him, her lips crushing against his as she scooted into his lap. Corny was pushed back on his legs, his hands skirting onto Amber's hips, his body responding to her touch until a niggling in the back of his head started screaming.  
_

_"Amber," he gasped, pushing her back. "What the hell?" Her tears had stilled, her eyes awash with a completely different fire. "No way, Amber, no way." _

_ "Why not Corny, everybody expects it," she said quickly, reaching for him again. Corny grabbed her wrists and pushed her back. "Corny?"  
_

_"No," he said again, standing up and offering her a hand. Amber curled her lip and righted herself without his help, before scoffing and walking away. Corny stood in the middle of the studio, his eyes cast down, lips still tingling.  
_

_It took Corny twenty minutes to get home from the studio and every second of those twenty minutes was spent agonizing about what had happened at the studio. The logical, college educated, Catholic side of his brain was focusing only on one thing: the number seventeen. Seventeen years old, seventeen birthdays, seventeen celebrations since she was born, and he had six of those by the time she had one.  
_

_Then there was the male side of his brain that was thinking about the seventeen hundred million pieces of mica that glittered in Amber's stage make-up, and the matte, flushed pink skin that shone through the tear tracks. He was thinking about the surprising speed with which she had gone from subdued and resolute, to passionate and, for lack of a better word, a woman. No girl he had ever known could have made him feel like that in such a short second. To say he was confused was an understatement.  
_

Looking up, Corny realized that he walked in a huge circle, and was standing in front of his own house. Chewing his lip, Corny sighed and pushed the font door open.

The house was silent, with the exception of the hum of the washing machine in the garage. Corny hung his coat up and kicked his shoes off, padding into the kitchen. Corny reached for a coffee mug.

"Christopher Cornelius Collins," Amber purred from right behind him. Corny smiled and sighed softly.

"Amber Collins, I presume?" he said, turning around. Amber was dressed in culottes and a sweater, smirking softly as she twisted her fingers over his forearms.

"I'm sorry," she said, resting her head against his chest. Corny sighed again, his chin brushing her crown.

"I know," he whispered, kissing her twice. "I know."


	3. Chapter 2

Three days later, Amber turned 26, the same age Corny had been when they'd gotten married. The day wasn't special because of that, though; it was special because it was the one year anniversary of Seaweed's death.

It hadn't been anything glorious, nothing like the man deserved. Instead it had been a simple car crash that had taken his life, a car crash on the interstate during snowy rain that killed three others and spared Penny. It seemed ridiculous to Corny that someone so remarkable, someone like Seaweed J. Stubbs, would make such an unremarkable mistake. Penny had endured psychological pain and suffering, but walked away unhurt. She and Seaweed had never married, but instead stayed together, blissful and young, something that had been lost on Corny and Amber the minute she turned eighteen.

In his mind, Seaweed's death was no more than a passing note when he woke up, snuggled next to Amber, freezing from the waist up; after their tryst in the middle of the night, he'd been far too exhausted to redress and now, with the temperature outside well below freezing, he was regretting it. It wasn't because of the cold that he wasn't thinking about Seaweed, nor was he distracted by the fact that it was Amber's birthday. He had been saddened to the point on tears when he'd heard the news, as had Amber (the rare show of true sympathy had not escaped Tracy, who'd told Corny later that seeing Amber cry had made her that much sadder).

What made Seaweed's death unbearable, he thought as he hurried into the shower, trying not to freeze, was that it meant Penny was cold like this all the time and that, he couldn't imagine.

Corny loved Amber, he was sure of it, but he didn't know why. He thought for a long time, five years, that he loved her because of Kimberly, for that little blonde haired, brown eyed she-devil was the most miraculously evil thing that had ever happened to him. She'd inherited his good looks and charm, but none of his manners. No, she'd gotten all of those from her mother. He loved his Kimmie and his Amber.

Or did he? Well, he knew he loved Kimberly, if for no other reason than that she usually was on his side. Amber was another story. She often showed him off like a captured prize and he supposed that, in a way, that's what he was. After all, she'd fought tooth and nail for his affection, disregarding of everything, even her age...

"_Don't be ridiculous, it's just a number!" Amber said, her voice pitching up, slightly manic._

"_No, it's not!" Corny bellowed. Amber stopped dead, her whole body seizing up. _

"_Corny, I..."_

"_Shut up, Amber, SHUT UP!" He took a few steps forward, forcing her a few steps back, against the wall. "I have seen things you will never, ever see! I have fought fights and listened to words and seen scenarios your mind cannot even imagine!" His face was flushed red, his eyes almost all pupil. "You are seventeen years old Amber, you're a child! God dammit Amber, don't you understand?! When you were born, I was in first grade! By the time you made it to middle school, I was graduating high school. I was fucking my first girl when you were kissing your first boy! Your mother was my age when you were born!"_

"_Corny, please," Amber said, her voice barely more than a trembling whisper. "Please, I'm sorry..."_

"_No, you're not, because if Amber Von Tussle is anything, and she's not a lot, she is never fucking sorry," he said, his voice coming down low, enunciating the last three words. Tears spilled down Amber's cheeks as Corny grabbed her wrists and yanked her forward, kissing her so hard he tasted blood. _

"_Fuck you," she said, pushing him back and hurrying out, wiping her mouth as she went. Corny could do nothing but watch her go._

He didn't know why he remembered that fight, other than he was convinced that was the only time he'd ever made any kind of impression on Amber. Sighing, Corny closed his eyes and leaned forward in the shower, letting his head rest against the cool marble.

"Move over," Amber grumbled, stepping in behind him, "I'm freezing."

"Well, you're naked," he snipped back, stepping over a little bit. Amber rolled her eyes.

"People usually are in the shower, Corny." Corny cocked an eyebrow, running his fingers down her neck and onto her chest.

"So I take it this," he said, palming her breasts, "is a reaction to the cold and you're not just happy to see me?" Amber smirked and pushed him back, pressing her whole body against him.

"That's my story. What's _your _excuse?"


	4. Chapter 3

Amber's legs still hooked around Corny's waist as easily as they had the first time. Pushing her back flush with the slick shower wall, Corny kissed and nipped at Amber's neck, his hips thrusting in rhythm with her moans and groans. He preferred it this way, where Amber felt trapped and safe all at the same time. It felt like pure heat, fucking like some B-grade porno. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy making love as much, but it was easier to disassociate himself this way, to remove himself from the situation.

No, when they were in bed, the smells and sounds were all too familiar and he forgot (realized) that he wasn't (was) fucking (making love to) his 17 (26) year old girlfriend (wife). The way Amber's toes curled when she came, her perky voice dropping low into her chest made her sound so dirty, so experienced, when he knew that, in reality, he had been her first.

"_Corny," Amber breathed as his fingers tore at her shirt, tugging the thin cotton polka dots off over her sweat soaked hair. "I..."_

"_Shhh," he whispered through a kiss, pulling her into him, all guilt and hesitation fleeting as she came to rest pressed against his body._

_She had danced harder than he had ever seen her dance, actually tried during rehearsal. Inches away from her during the Madison, he could hear her breathy counts, leading him to forget his own steps and imagine what she sounded like..._

_No, no he couldn't imagine that, which wasn't to say that he hadn't. He had, stretched out on his bed, seen Amber, flushed pink, gasping his name as he rocked into her, her ankles linked together behind his neck. He had, as his hand tightened around his hardened flesh, heard Amber begging for more, demanding more._

"_Corny?" Amber's voice was real this time, annoyed and rough. "Hi," she snipped, wiping the sweat from her brow, "anytime you'd like to participate, we'd really appreciate it." Corny rolled his eyes, kneeling and biting the inside of his cheek as his jeans pulled tighter across his groin._

_It was after rehearsal that he let his guard down, that she made her move, when all along, she'd been prancing right in front of him. In his dressing room, he stripped of his polo and undershirt and had just unbuckled his belt when he felt her hands skirt across his back. He knew it was her and turned, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her against the wall, and kissing her so hard that colors yet unnamed exploded behind his eyelids._

_Her shirt came off in shreds, polka dots fluttering to the floor as he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist easily after her jeans had been forced off. Her hand traveled down his tight chest and over his abs before dipping into his pants and tugging his erection out. Without a word or emotion, he thrust into her, surprised by the tension he met. Amber growled in pain, biting his shoulder hard. He yelped, surprised, as his chest heaved with deep breaths. Amber's muscles twitched and pulsed around him as she panted shallowly against his neck. He brought his head forward to rest against hers._

"_Amber..."_

"_Don't," she gulped, her legs tightening, "don't stop."_

_Leaning his weight forward so that Amber was snug against the wall, he began to thrust slowly, kissing her neck and running his tongue along her shoulder brushingly. _

"_Oh, Corny..."_

"Oh God, Corny," Amber moaned, her head falling back against the tile. "Oh God..."

"I love you, Amber," he whispered, kissing her neck. "Oh..."

Twenty years of dancing had left his body muscled and strong, but with Amber around his waist and his body turning to goo, his knees were beginning to shake. Amber unwrapped her legs and set her feet down, her breath coming in short, punctuated gasps. She shut the water off before tugging Corny out of the shower with her.

Collapsing into bed, still soaking, Amber pushed Corny down and straddled him, leaning forward and pressing her chest to his.

"Amber..."

"Shhh," she whispered, rocking her hips, kissing him deeply. Water ran in rivulets down neck, sloping between her breasts as she sat up, her head falling back on her shoulders, her mouth perked into a tiny smile. "Oh, Corny..."

Corny dug his fingers into Amber's hips, biting his lip against the building pressure in his stomach. "Amber, oh my God, Amber, ah..." Amber curled her fingers around Corny's shoulders, her mouth dropping open slightly as he flipped them, pinning her easily beneath him.

"Yes, oh my God, yes," Amber cried out, scratching her fingers down his chest. Corny kissed her roughly, skimming his fingers down her thighs as he pushed her knees up to touch her shoulders. His thrusts were quickening as he groaned her name with every stroke. "Harder, harder..."

The breathy pleading was all it took to send Corny over the edge. Crying out, he shuddered and collapsed, panting in tandem with Amber as she linked her legs together around his waist.

They stayed that way for a long moment, just breathing, until Corny rolled over, pulling Amber on top of him. He kissed her, his tongue tracing along the crease of her lips, nipping gently.

"Happy birthday, baby."


End file.
